Boot camps and personal training sessions are limited to a maximum of 10 people with strict social distancing rules observed.

Galleries, museums, national institutions, historic sites, libraries, community centres, nonessential facilities, community facilities such as halls will be closed.

Weddings will also be restricted to the couple, celebrant and witnesses with no more than five people and funerals will be restricted to ten.

“Large gatherings for weddings, sadly, won’t be possible under these new arrangements. Sadly, also, and I know this will be very difficult, funerals to no more than 10 persons observing the rules around the 4-square metre rule and the social distancing practices,” the Prime Minister said.

People will be urged to stay home unless it is “absolutely necessary you go out. Going out for the basics, going out for an exercise, perhaps with your partner or family members, provided it’s a small group, that’s fine.

“But going outside and going out and participating more broadly in the community unless you’re shopping for basics or there are medical needs or you’re providing care and support to an individual at another place,” the Prime Minister said.

He said it would take a “significant sacrifice” to avoid birthday parties and social events but it was too great a risk to have such things take place.

Australians will be banned from international travel.

“As soon as that direction is signed off by the health minister, it will come into force then and that will happen tomorrow,” he said.

Schools however will remain open and the Prime Minister insisted “it is safe to send your children to school.”

“It’s going to be a tough year in 2020 and one of the things I don’t want to have yielded up is a year of a child’s education, which is so important. We need to work so hard together to try and ensure that those kids get that education and that is not lost to this virus,” he said.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said social events provide a great community risk. Picture: DAVID GRAY / AFP)Source:AFP